Read Online Blood Feather by Don Bendell - Free Book Online Page B

jumping all over the place. Before his hand went to his holster, his face was like a giant sign telling Strongheart he was drawing.
    The man’s eyes opened wide, and he clawed for his gun. It was just clearing the holster when he looked up at the business end of Joshua’s Colt Peacemaker, and saw flame stab out from it twice in an instant and immediately felt two bullets slam into his chest and pass through his body. He could not breathe, and he felt his body roll backward over his horse’s rump as he fell face-first onto the ground behind his dun. He was dead before he hit the dirt with a loud thud.
    Joshua swung the gun toward the leader and held it on his chest. It was cocked.
    â€œNow,” Strongheart said, “if you boys decide to kill me, it will be with bullets and not a rope, but I am shooting, too, and it starts with you, partner. You die with me no matter what. Now, I have done nothing wrong and am not going to be strung up by a bunch of vigilantes just because you do not like half-breeds. So, mister, it’s your turn to make a decision.”
    â€œHold your water, boys,” the leader said nervously.
    Joshua said, “That is the first wise thing you have said. Now, have one of your men come over here, and I will show him my badge and a paper showing I am a Pinkerton agent.”
    One of the men climbed out of the saddle and walked over. Joshua handed him his badge and a note from Lucky on Pinkerton stationery. The man took it to the leader, who read it and had it taken back to Joshua.
    The leader said, “Guess we made a mistake, Mr. Strongheart. I am glad we got things stopped. Ben there that you shot was always a big mouth and a hothead. We all saw that was a righteous shooting, and you even give him a chance to make his play first. What were you gonna do with the draft horse?”
    Strongheart said, “I was going to give him to a ranch. In fact, I had decided to leave him at that ranch down there. You can take him and give him to the ranch where he was stolen if you want.”
    The leader said, “We will. Shore sorry how things worked out. We shouldn’t have jumped the gun like we did.”
    â€œNo, you shouldn’t have,” Strongheart said. “Now you have a man to bury, so you can think about it.”
    One of the men said, “With that long hair and gun skill, you sure you ain’t really Wild Bill Hickok in disguise?”
    The man nervously laughed at his own joke. In less than four years, James Butler Hickok would be murdered in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, by an assassin named Jack McCall hired by some gamblers to shoot Hickcok, simply on the fear that he might decide to become a lawman in Deadwood and clean the town up.
    The leader nodded at Joshua as he took the lead line to the draft horse, and the group rode away.
    Strongheart gladly left them behind him, wanting as he did to get away from Laramie as quickly as he could. He went straightaway to the town and boarded a train to Denver.
    It was dark already when he happily checked into a hotel there. In the morning, he went to the big Western Union terminus, made his report to Lucky, and waited there for the reply. Lucky sent a message back indicating that he would send as many agents as they could spare, and they would start sharing information about Blood Feather with lawmen, especially in the southern Colorado area.
    Joshua was able to catch a train to Pueblo fairly quickly and would reach there late that afternoon. He then would take another train to Cañon City that afternoon or early evening, and that trip should only take about an hour. It was after dark when Strongheart reached Cañon City, and he immediately went to Annabelle’s café.
    She greeted him with a kiss near the door and showed him to a table.
    â€œHungry?”
    â€œFor your food, darling, always,” he replied. “Been on trains from Denver since this morning and haven’t eaten much.”
    She